Boku is a new service that helps application developers monetize their virtual currencies and is officially launching today. The company was started through the acquisition of Mobilcash and Paymo, two of the leading payment providers for mobile consumers. With less than 20 percent of Facebook users having access to a credit card, mobile payment solutions have become a critical component of application monetization.
Today Boku also announced a $13 million Series A round from Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. The company also announced a pretty killer management team including Mark Britto who has over twenty years of management, sales and payment roles at Amazon, Ingenio and FirstUSA. Through their acquisitions, the company already reaches over 50 countries and 1.6 billion consumers.
As Facebook continues is rapid global expansion, monetization in countries that don’t have widespread access to credit is extremely difficult and as such mobile payment platforms are an extremely effective mechanism for generating revenue. Additionally, mobile transactions have a smaller barrier to completing the transaction, which has helped numerous developers monetize their virtual economies.
As social gaming becomes more widespread, the monetization of virtual goods and currencies will become increasingly important which is why we’ve seen numerous payment platforms pop-up in this space. Whether developers want to sell their currency or try to get users to convert through offer programs, there are plenty of monetization opportunities. As the space continues to expand, many social gaming and mobile application developers are making hundreds of thousands if not millions from their apps.
Boku hopes to continue expanding their role as a leader in this space. With a fresh round of funding and an an existing revenue stream their is plenty of opportunity for the company to expand. You can check out a demo of their product in the vide below.
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I Don't understand how it really works! if you are prepaid , users ( like must of abroad users are). so you get charge from your prepaid minutes?
Comment by Leonardo Vargas — June 16, 2009 @ 10:08 am
Yes you do
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Comment by ray — April 28, 2011 @ 7:17 am
BOKU has a big problem, which is that it is not in control of its destiny. The company does own its payment processing platform and has established direct relationships with merchants, but its carrier partners – T-Mobile, AT&T, etc. – own the customer relationships and can dictate the terms of service, including the pricing. The way I see it, the start-up will not be able to remain an independent company. So BOKU's best possible exit strategy is to make itself attractive to as many potential buyers as it possibly can and try to trigger a bidding war among them. http://blog.unibulmerchantservices.com/can-boku-s...
Comment by @UniBul — August 12, 2011 @ 5:35 pm